MotoGP Results From Jerez

(This original, copyrighted material may not be copied, cut and pasted, published or otherwise reproduced in any way in any medium, which means, don’t post this on another website or BBS. If you want somebody else to see this, send, share or tweet a link or post a link to this page.)

Dani Pedrosa clinched his maiden victory of this year’s MotoGP™ World Championship, winning the Gran Premio bwin de España on Sunday, as teammate Marc Marquez spiced up proceedings by barging past Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo for second place in the final corner.

Lorenzo had been the rider to beat for much of the weekend, comfortably sealing his second pole position of the season on Saturday, yet Pedrosa overtook him at the start of the 27-lap race. The lead was immediately snatched back, but Pedrosa made the move stick as he passed at Dry Sack on Lap 6. As the Yamaha rider dropped into the clutches of Marquez, Pedrosa maintained a steady pace en route to his first win since Valencia last year.

Marquez’s race was a dramatic one, having entered as the joint championship leader with Lorenzo. Having quickly demoted Valentino Rossi to fourth place after the Yamaha rider overtook at the end of Lap 1, the 20-year-old charged up to the back of Lorenzo and attempted several different lines in a bid to distract the current title holder. The eventual move came at the newly-named Jorge Lorenzo Corner at the end of the very last lap, where Marquez forcefully made his way past his compatriot, leaving the latter in a less than happy mood in Parc Fermé.

Rossi had a lonely ride to fourth place on the second Yamaha Factory bike, with Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow overcoming GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista for a top five spot at the end of a difficult weekend, which featured two sizeable accidents on Saturday. Ducati Team duo Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso made the top eight while test rider Michele Pirro enjoyed a strong first ride of the campaign to 11th on the squad’s GP13 Lab chassis.

Hector Barbera and Avintia Blusens impressed by qualifying tenth on the lead CRT machine, but on race day the Spaniard fell to 12th as Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro took top CRT honours for the third time in as many races, finishing ninth from Tech 3’s Bradley Smith. As Avintia’s Hiroshi Aoyama tumbled to 18th in the closing stages, Michael Laverty scored the first points for PBM’s own-built bike by coming home 13th and ahead of Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards, who also scored for the first time in 2013.

Five riders failed to make the end of the race, notably Stefan Bradl who compounded a tough three days for himself and LCR Honda MotoGP. The German, like Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone, retired on the fourth lap. Iannone’s teammate Ben Spies did not compete, advised by doctors to rest and solve a problem with a pectoral muscle, while Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham pulled out after Friday due to suffering too much pain with his broken right collarbone.

MotoGP™ Race Classification

1- Dani Pedrosa SPA Honda 45:17.632

2- Marc Marquez SPA Honda +2.487

3- Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha +5.089

1st CRT

9- Aleix Espargaro SPA ART +43.812

Moto2Tito Rabat convincingly won his first-ever race at the Gran Premio bwin de España today, snatching the Moto2™ championship lead, after starting from his first pole position. Former points leader Scott Redding finished second as Rabat’s Tuenti HP 40 teammate Pol Espargaro stole the final podium position from Takaaki Nakagami.

Rabat held the advantage from Redding as the red lights went out, and went on to make the victory look easy as he won by over four seconds, despite the pressure of a home crowd. Redding’s ride to second place was a calm one, as the Marc VDS Racing Team rider looks to achieve consistency across the 2013 season. Espargaro, a pre-season favourite for many, was desperate to make up ground after crashing out at the Circuit of the Americas two weeks ago. Running fourth and catching Italtrans Racing Team’s Nakagami, the former was held up by QMMF Racing Team’s Rafid Topan Sucipto, who was running a lap down. He caught Nakagami again with only a handful of laps to go, passing on the penultimate tour as the Japanese rider made an unforced error exiting Michelin curve. After the race, Sucipto apologised to Espargaro for delaying his progress.

As Nakagami dropped to fourth and was unable to re-pass Espargaro, Texas winner Nico Terol ended the day fifth for Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2 while Desguaces La Torre Maptaq’s Xavier Simeon overhauled Aspar’s Jordi Torres to end a spirited battle in a career-best sixth position. Technomag carXpert’s Dominique Aegerter, Blusens Avintia’s Toni Elias and Desguaces La Torre SAG’s Marcel Schrotter completed the first ten, while Tom Luthi finished 11th on his return with Interwetten Paddock Moto2 Racing. Two places further back, Came Iodaracing Project’s Johann Zarco had fought up to 13th position from 30th on the starting grid.

Several riders were caught out, including Britons Danny Kent and Kyle Smith, but Mika Kallio’s fall was arguably the most significant. The Finn had been joint second in the standings heading into the race, but crashed his Marc VDS Racing Team bike at Dry Sack corner while involved in a multiple-rider battle over fifth position.

Moto2™ Race Classification

1- Tito Rabat SPA Kalex 45:04.450

2- Scott Redding GBR Kalex +4.261

3- Pol Espargaró SPA Kalex +7.517

Moto3™

Maverick Viñales has won for the first time this season, marking three Moto3™ victors from as many races. The Team Calvo rider, who overtook Alex Rins for the lead, was declared the winner when red flags flew for the second consecutive race.

On Saturday, Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Rins stormed to his second pole position in a row off the back of a maiden career victory in Texas. He defended from Viñales off the start line, but lost the lead when the latter slipped through at Dry Sack on the third tour. Pushing hard to stay in touch and doing so successfully until Lap 12, Rins lost the front end of his bike and crashed at Alex Criville corner.

This left Viñales in front with a small gap back to KTM Ajo’s Luis Salom, who had been joint championship leader with Rins heading into this weekend. The second of the pair caught the leader and looked set to make a move when the right moment came, but was left frustrated when the race was stopped at just past two-thirds distance. Less irritated was Livio Loi, as the Belgian scored on his debut with Marc VDS Racing Team less than two weeks after his 16th birthday.

Viñales’ victory is his first since Mugello last year and comes at the same track where he suffered the pre-season testing crash which injured his right hand. He now takes the championship lead, having led home Salom and Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Jonas Folger who made up for his below-par performance in Qualifying on Saturday.

Ambrogio Racing’s Brad Binder was the main prophet of the Oliveira-Miller clash, finishing fourth from Redox RW Racing GP’s Jakub Kornfeil, who has enjoyed an extremely strong weekend considering that he missed all of Friday Free Practice in order to take compulsory exams. Avant Tecno’s Niklas Ajo avoided the trouble to finish sixth as Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin, Mahindra’s Efren Vazquez, San Carlo Team Italia’s Romano Fenati and Ognetta-Rivacold’s Alexis Masbou completed the top ten.

Moto3™ Race Classification

1- Maverick Viñales SPA KTM 26:57.338

2- Luis Salom SPA KTM +0.263

3- Jonas Folger GER Kalex KTM +4.475

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Lorenzo Fights to the End in Jerez

Jorge Lorenzo took his third consecutive podium finish of the season today, taking third on the podium for the Gran Premio bwin de España at the Jerez de la Frontera Circuit in Southern Spain. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider made a strong start from pole position, initially dropping to second off the line but retaking the lead a couple of corners later from fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. With 22 laps to go tyre life dropped off dramatically and Lorenzo was then re-passed by Pedrosa. The reigning World Champion was able to hold second from an advancing Marc Marquez until the final corner of the final lap when the young Spanish rookie made a heart stopping pass on the inside of Lorenzo, making contact and pushing him wide to steal second. The podium finish delivers Lorenzo 16 Championship points and places him third in the standings, four points behind Marquez.

Valentino Rossi made a good start from fifth position on the grid and enjoyed an early tussle with Marc Marquez reminiscent of their Qatar battle. Having been unable to find an optimum set up for the race Rossi was unable to maintain the pace of the front three. The nine-time World Champion was quick enough to stay ahead of fifth placed rider Cal Crutchlow and rode a relatively lonely race in fourth to take a further 13 Championship points. Rossi sits in fourth in the standings with 43 points, 14 behind his teammate in third.

Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd, +5.089“I have always been positive so today also I am going to be positive, to finish the race with sixteen points is always a great result. I was second for the whole race and then lost the place on the last corner so it wasn't the perfect race. The perfect race is a victory and if not possible second, the next is third. Today we got another podium and we are quite close to the leader. On the other hand we have to improve the bike. I think I made two mistakes in the race, in the start I started really badly and in the last corner, I thought Marquez was further behind than he was so I didn’t take a defensive line, this was my second mistake.”

Valentino Rossi, 4th +8.914"It was a difficult race. Unfortunately we were not able to be better, we suffered a bit with the conditions and we tried to do the maximum. We improved the set up for the race and we did a good start. I was with the top group but unfortunately I was not fast enough to stay with the top three. Lap by lap the gap was bigger so I think we have some work to do. Here in Jerez I expected we could go faster than Honda but they arrived in front of us. We still have some work to do to improve the bike. Tomorrow we have the test and we'll try to find the right balance. In the Championship we are not very far from the top and we took some important points. I wanted to be on the podium but unfortunately it was not possible, we will try again next week.”

Wilco Zeelenberg - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager“A very tough fight today in very difficult circumstances. We struggled a lot to get the bike under control for the whole race. Finally we finished on the podium, which is very important in races like this. After five laps the tyre had already dropped a lot and Jorge was missing apexes here and there. He brought the bike back home and that is what is important.”

Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director“It has been a hard weekend. We really worked as hard as we could to improve tyre life. Unfortunately we couldn't get what we were looking for. For sure we will focus some more effort tomorrow during the test to fix it for the rest of the season. In terms of the Championship, points and a podium are always good and we are close to the leader. The season is long; we lost a battle but not the war! Both riders put in a lot of effort, pushing 100% from the start of the race until the end. Overall it was a good race.”

Heroic fifth for Crutchlow, Smith gets first top 10 in Jerez

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team celebrated its first double top 10 result of the 2013 MotoGP campaign in Jerez today, with Cal Crutchlow riding to a heroic fifth place and rookie Bradley Smith storming to a maiden top 10 finish. Crutchlow displayed phenomenal determination and bravery to bounce back from two heavy crashes yesterday to maintain his 100% record of finishing every race inside the top five this season. The British rider was engaged in an exciting early fight with Valentino Rossi for fourth before he got locked into an intense tussle with Alvaro Bautista shortly before the halfway stage of the 27-lap encounter. In scenes reminiscent of their titanic battle for the podium in Japan last October, Bautista seized fifth from Crutchlow on lap 11.

But riding through the pain barrier in gruelling heat that saw temperatures hit 27 degrees C under clear blue skies, Crutchlow fought back superbly to take back fifth on lap 17. He then produced a master class in aggressive riding to streak away from Bautista and claim a third successive top five finish by almost three seconds.

Bradley Smith produced an equally impressive ride to come tantalizingly close to registering his first top 10 finish in MotoGP. For the majority of the 27-lap race he was locked in the biggest battle on track for eighth position with Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix Espargaro and Michele Pirro. Smith moved into the top 10 on lap 24 with a clinical move to get by Pirro and at that stage he was 1.770s behind Espargaro. He produced a stunning late charge to cut the Spaniard’s advantage to less than a second but just as he was lining up an attack to claim ninth the chequered flag came out.

Cal Crutchlow 5th, +12.663“Fifth place today is not a bad result considering everything that has gone on before but it’s not exactly what we expected. I was fast all weekend but after the two crashes yesterday I think it’s a very good result to remain the best of the rest. I did not feel very confident with the front-end in the race, but I think all Yamaha’s struggled in this area. I think in the middle of the race my pace was good and I started to push but with the full fuel tank I could not stop the bike and I had no grip, so I lost quite a bit of time in the early laps. Physically I had no problem on the bike for the race distance although I had a little bit of pain in my lower back. It has been a difficult weekend in many respects so I am very satisfied with fifth because probably last year I would not have finished the race in the same situation and that’s for sure an improvement.”

Bradley Smith 10th, +44.461“I’m obviously happy with my first top 10 result because conditions for the race were different compared to the rest of the weekend. The lap times were relatively slow and the temperature meant the grip was quite low, so it was a big learning experience for me. Riding these bikes with that little grip needs a different style, so I had to adapt at the beginning of the race. From the middle stages I felt comfortable and I’m a little disappointed to be beaten again by Espargaro but it’s nice to be at least closer than last time in Austin. I just ran out of time at the end of the race because I was catching him very quickly. In Austin I was 50 seconds behind the winner and here the deficit is 44 seconds, so that’s definitely a positive and our aim for the future will be to keep reducing the gap. I’m really looking forward to the test tomorrow. It will be another learning experience for me and it will be nice to test on a track where we’ve just had a race and where I feel now really comfortable on the bike. Tomorrow we will be able to test a few different parts and understand actually what’s working better and what does not. So all in all it has been a positive weekend with improvements in every session.”

Despite pain in his right wrist, Hayden managed to finish in seventh place, maintaining the same position for almost the entire race and riding alone for most of the twenty-seven laps. His Italian teammate, Dovizioso, never found a good feeling with his Desmosedici GP13, and he was involved in a battle with Espargaro for eighth place, a position he managed to claim at the chequered flag.

Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro had an encouraging performance in his first race aboard a MotoGP bike. Riding the experimental GP13, Pirro rode consistently in tenth place before losing a position four laps from the end and finishing eleventh.

Hayden and Dovizioso are scheduled to participate in tomorrow’s official IRTA test, which will also be held at Circuito de Jerez.

Nicky Hayden - Ducati Team, 7th“The small tweaks we did to the bike this morning were improvements, and after I was fifth in the warm-up with a decent pace, I was confident for the race. My start was okay, but I lost the gap when Bradl crashed in front of me and I wasn’t able to stay with Bautista and Crutchlow. Thanks to my physiotherapist, Alfredo Dente, and the Clinica Mobile, who helped me to race despite the problem with my wrist. With the adrenaline, the first fifteen laps weren’t much of a problem, but the last part wasn’t much fun. It was our best weekend so far this season, so hopefully we can build on it.”

Andrea Dovizioso - Ducati Team, 8th“I knew it would be a hard weekend, but it was more difficult than I expected, especially the race. For sure the front tyre wasn’t suited to these conditions, but we shouldn’t complain too much because this is our gap at the moment. Anyway, I don’t want to find excuses because I didn’t ride as I wanted to today, while Nicky interpreted the track better. Tomorrow will be an important test to try the parts that Pirro raced with today, and I’m confident.”

Michele Pirro – Ducati Test Team, 11th“Honestly, considering how I was doing until the halfway point, I thought I could've stayed with Dovizioso, but I eventually found myself in a battle with Espargaro. I made some small mistakes and lost some time. In the end, I lost the feeling with the front tyre and also a bit of acceleration on corner exit. It’s a shame because we had the potential to finish in the top ten. It was my first real race on a MotoGP bike, and it wasn’t easy because I didn’t want to make mistakes. Now we can focus on my next race at Mugello, where I hope to do better. I don’t like this track much, but anyway we got some good information for our development work. I’d like to thank Ducati for having given me this opportunity.”

Bernhard Gobmeier – Ducati Corse General Manager“We knew from the tests we’d done at Jerez that this weekend would be difficult for us, as the track doesn’t seem to match the characteristics of our GP13. Still, Nicky did good lap times in the race despite his painful wrist, while Andrea had some problems with the front tyre. It was nice to see Pirro’s performance over race distance, as he made progress and improved his feeling with the laboratory bike. Thank you to the whole team, including the test team, for the good work they did over the weekend, and which will continue in the test tomorrow, when the two Ducati Team riders will have the opportunity to give their input on the experimental bike for future development.”

Today in the Grand Prix of Spain in front of 111,259 spectators, Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa completed a perfect race to take his first victory of the 2013 season. Teammate Marc Marquez enjoyed a fantastic battle with Jorge Lorenzo, passing him in the final corner to take a thrilling second place.

After tracing Lorenzo, who led from pole, in the early laps, Dani made his move on lap six and never looked back, opening up a 2.4 second lead by the end of the race. With this victory, Dani continues his incredible run here in Jerez, finishing on the podium in all eight starts in the MotoGP class. Jerez continues to be the most successful circuit for Spanish riders for premier-class victories, with a total of nine; Alberto Puig in 1995, Alex Criville in 1997, ‘98, ‘99, Sete Gibernau in 2004, Jorge Lorenzo in 2010 & 2011 and Dani in 2008 and 2013.

It was an eventful race for Marc who had an early battle with Valentino Rossi but passed him and then stuck with Lorenzo for the majority of the race, trying to find a way to pass his countryman. In the final lap, on the final turn, Lorenzo didn't fully close the door and it was all Marc needed. The bikes touched but Marc was able to keep his line and finished ahead of Lorenzo. Marc is now the youngest rider to finish on the podium at three successive premier-class races, after his 3rd place in Qatar and victory in Austin.

Marc now leads the 2013 World Championship standings on 61 points, with Dani second on 58 points. Collecting the trophy for Honda was Mr. Manabu Nishimae, COO for Regional Operations (Europe, Middle and Near East and Africa), President and Director of Honda Motor Europe Ltd.

Dani Pedrosa, 1stChampionship Standing: 2nd - 58 points"It was a beautiful race. I was able to ride the bike well, even though it was difficult because the tyres were really on the limit. I couldn't push too hard because of that, so I had to ride carefully. I was able to maintain a good advantage throughout the race and collect this win at home as a result. It was fantastic, especially seeing all the fans in the stands; this year we've had a lot of people come to watch this Grand Prix. I also want to say 'Happy Mothers' Day' to my mum and thanks to all my team, it's been a great day! "

Marc Marquez, 2ndChampionship Standing: 1st - 61 points"It was a very good race. I gave 100% from the first lap through to the last. At some points in the race I felt better than at others, but I never gave up. I tried to stick as close as possible to Lorenzo, although it was very difficult. I couldn’t quite close the gap, but I didn’t let him get away either. It was a very hard race, because if you get one or two seconds difference between you, you relax a bit. I didn’t relax though, and I am very happy. I think that, above all, the end of the race was really good for the fans. I want to apologise to Jorge, because it was a racing incident – a last lap move that happens when you are on the limit. The most important thing is that we both finished the race, and I hope that that’s the end of it."

More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda:

BRADL SLID OUT OF THE GRAND PRIX OF SPAIN

Jerez, 5 May: LCR racer Stefan Bradl endured a tough weekend at Jerez de la Frontera circuit crashing out of the Grand Prix of Spain on the third lap of 27. During practice the German had struggled with a lack of feeling for the front-end, but by yesterday evening he seemed to have partially solved the issue, which then returned for the race. Bradl was racing in seventh when he lost the front at turn nine. He walked away from the crash unharmed but hugely disappointed.

Stefan Bradl:"Basically we were not able to fix our problems throughout the weekend and even today I could not ride the bike in a smooth way. I early crashed because, since the beginning of the race, I could not push in the front and this overall package did not suit my riding style. This tough weekend ended with a crash and I feel sorry for everybody. We must forget this race and go ahead working hard for Le Mans GP”.

More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:

Forgettable weekend for Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team

Despite yesterday’s crash-induced injury, Andrea Iannone had a better night than expected, and in this morning’s warm-up session for the Spanish Grand Prix, he registered a best lap time of 1:40.690, just six-tenths from his Q2 time yesterday, when the only thing hindering him had been his forearm problem.

The asphalt temperature was at 46° C (115° F) - much warmer than the morning session—as the MotoGP riders lined up on the start grid, with the Italian, who had undergone treatment by the Clinica Mobile, on row four. He enjoyed a good start and was close behind fellow Ducati rider Nicky Hayden, and he registered a 1:40.642 lap time before losing the front end.

The Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team will now prepare for the next round of the championship, at Le Mans on 19 May.

Andrea Iannone – Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team“I had hoped that this weekend would go better for me; I was very confident that I could do well, also because this is the track at which I’ve done the most kilometers on a MotoGP bike. In fact, we didn’t start off too badly, and we did a good job before the two crashes. Unfortunately, the first fall made things a bit difficult for me physically, as I’m missing some strength, maybe also because of the medicine I’m taking. I suffered quite a bit in the warm-up session, but thanks to the work done by the Clinica Mobile and Dr. Costa, I thought I could make it to the finish line. Although my launch wasn’t the best, I managed to pass some riders in the first and second turns. I was doing okay, so I’m sorry for how it went. It was a really short race for me, because like yesterday, I lost the front. Fortunately, I’m fine. A big thank-you to the team for the work we’re doing together; now we’ll focus on Le Mans.”

Francesco Guidotti – Pramac Racing Team Manager“It’s really a shame! Andrea had a good pace up until Saturday afternoon’s free practice, with everything pointing toward us having a good race, despite the pain in his arm. Then the crash in FP4 compromised all the work we’d carried out over the weekend, and we really didn’t need the fall in the race, especially since he was riding really well. Now we prepare for Le Mans, and we hope to take better advantage of the work we’ve done until today.”

More, from another press release issued by Pramac Racing:

Although he’s at home in Dallas undergoing intensive treatment, the Texan was kept up to date over the weekend. His impressions on the Spanish Grand Prix follow:

Ben Spies - Ignite Pramac RacingTeam“I followed yesterday’s practice sessions with great interest, and I noticed that it became challenging for the riders when the track temperature rose. Obviously, not being there, I can't see everything going on, but it was good to see Pirro so close to the factory guys! We’ll be following his progress closely, and hopefully we can see some improvement with his new bike. I look forward to joining the team and Ducati as soon as possible, and I’m doing my best to regain enough strength to be back in the championship.”

A wave of sweltering heat took over the Jerez circuit today at 2pm, just in time for the start of the MotoGP race. 30 °C ambient temperature and 50 °c track temperature created an uncomfortable time for the riders, although the heat was really turned up at the end of the race. Jorge Lorenzo was able to set the kind of pace that had given him pole position, but his leadership of the race lasted just five laps. Pedrosa got past him and never looked back, taking the win. To conclude the contest, Marc Márquez overtook Lorenzo with a risky move on the final corner of the last lap, snatching second in controversial fashion. Whilst Pedrosa won the race, there was also victory for Aleix Espargaró in the CRT side of the contest with a ninth place finish.

It had been suspected that some of the CRT battalion could provide problems for the 'official' bikes in today's race, and Aleix Espargaró made sure that it happened. The man of the moment in the CRT sub-class started from thirteenth on the grid, and the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider began to gain positions from the first lap. He brought official riders Smith and Pirro along with him, but soon he was in a position to attack Dovizioso ahead of him. He caught up with the Italian on lap 11 and accompanied him almost to the chequered flag. Espargaró placed ninth in his best performance of the 2013 season so far. He is now the standout leader of the CRT standings, with 7 points added to his tally and a total of 17.

Less fortunate was his teammate, Randy De Puniet, who had also started well at Jerez but crashed out on the third lap. He lost the front of his bike at Turn 9, ending his day prematurely. The Frenchman was unhurt and now turns his attention to the next race -his home round at Le Mans.

9th Aleix Espargaró: "Today I had a beautiful race. Honestly, yesterday I was not happy with myself for missing Q2, I knew that here we could be very fast and not reaching the level expected was something that upset me. However, I still knew that here was where I had the best pace. 'Aspar' told me on the grid to keep calm, as that was the best way to have a good race, but I must admit that when I saw that I was just behind Dovizioso I went for it. I am very happy; it's great to finish a race so high up and with such great feelings. I was even able to pass him on a couple of occasions. It really was a tough race, in which we finished with the tyres destroyed and sliding all over the place on the last laps. It was worth it, though. In all of the three races so far we have managed to reduce the gap to the first few riders, so every day we are performing at a higher level. I am very happy, because we are doing things very well. It is clear that, besides myself, the team also deserve a huge amount of credit for giving me by far the best CRT bike. I want to dedicate this magnificent result Jorge because he won the first race in the history of this track. I'm sure he's even keener than I am to have an official bike, so I will give him a case to make for that to happen."

Randy De Puniet (DNF):"It was a shame about the crash today, because I had started the race well. On turn nine, releasing the brakes, I lost the front. On the previous lap I had been given a couple of warnings, so I tried to stop the bike as smoothly as possible, but when I lost it there was nothing I could do. I made a mistake and that made ??me losethe bike. Today the conditions remained tough, it was very hot and the tyres suffered greatly. In fact, we saw several very similar crashes from other riders. We knew yesterday that the race would be difficult, although we weren't expecting it to finish like that. We had done an excellent job over the weekend and now we have to move on and think about Le Mans."

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa rediscovered the form that netted him seven wins last season to take a dominant victory in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

After getting the holeshot at the start of the race to lead into the first corner, Pedrosa was overtaken by Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo on the first lap who set a fierce pace in the opening stages of the contest, setting a new race lap record of 1’39.565 on lap two. Pedrosa managed to regain the race lead from Lorenzo on lap six before pulling away to take the chequered flag by 2.487 seconds. The battle for second place between Lorenzo and Marc Marquez on the other Repsol Honda came to a thrilling conclusion on the last lap of the race, with Marquez passing Lorenzo on the inside at the last corner to take second place and the championship lead, while Lorenzo crossed the line in third place.

The first of the CRT finishers at Jerez was Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro, who capped off a strong showing in Spain by claiming ninth position.

Strong sunshine and ambient temperatures approaching the thirty degree Celsius mark combined to create challenging track conditions today. A peak track temperature of 53°C was recorded during the race – the same figure reached yesterday afternoon – and correspondingly, race tyre choice was similar to that seen in qualifying. Front tyre choice for the race was uniform across the whole grid with all riders selecting the harder of the two front slick tyre options, the medium compound for the race. All the riders also selected the softer of the rear slick options available to them, with CRT riders selecting the extra-soft compound symmetric rear slick and the riders on works machines selecting the soft compound symmetric rear slick.

Pedrosa’s victory sees him move into second place in the MotoGP championship standings on fifty-eight points, while Marquez moves to the overall points lead with sixty-one points. Lorenzo sits one point behind Pedrosa in third position.

Yuichiro Takenami – Vice President and Senior Officer, Corporate Communications and Motorsport“Congratulations to Dani Pedrosa on taking his first win of the season today in front of a large and passionate Spanish crowd. The contest between Marc and Jorge for second place was special to behold and the intense level of competition in MotoGP at the moment is resulting in some fantastic races. Bridgestone is proud to be part of such an exciting series and with such a depth of talent in the championship and the inclusion of exciting new rookies such as Marquez, I am sure we will continue to see large crowds of people flocking to racetracks throughout the season.”

Shinichi Yamashita – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department“This weekend presented a big challenge to the riders with the hottest track conditions seen in Jerez in recent times, so our technical team worked diligently to ensure the teams could get the most out of the tyres on the scorching asphalt. I am pleased that even though track temperatures were substantially higher than we had in the pre-season test six weeks ago, a new race lap record was set and riders could lap at a consistent pace throughout the twenty-seven lap race. The extreme temperatures also provided lots of useful data on tyre performance at this circuit, which we will take into consideration for our ongoing tyre development programme.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda – Race Winner“To win today feels amazing and obviously for the championship this victory is also good. It was a smart race from me, I had to push every lap while also taking care of the tyres, but the bike was working well and towards the end I could manage the gap. It’s an amazing feeling to be here and thanks to my team, we now have a test tomorrow so there is still some hard work to do.”

More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:

Edwards in the points at the Jerez GP

The Jerex GP comes to an end and the NGM Mobile Forward Racing will leave Spain with the first point of the season after Colin Edwards overtook both his teammate Claudio Corti and Danilo Petruci on the last lap with his FTR-Kawasaki, finishing in fifteenth position.

After being constrained to retire during the first two races of the season in Qatar and Austin, the American rider not only finished the race but also the first point of the season for the team.

Claudio Corti started the race in twenty-second position and made it to fourteenth position in the first two laps, to later leave the points area halfway through the race. Towards the end of the race the Italian rider was engaged in a battle for fifteenth position and ended up overtaken and ended the race in seventeenth position.

Colin Edwards – 15th “What a day, the start was terrible. We did a little suspension change before the race to try to get more traction. Once the race started I got going and it was all about management, try to stay between the lines and be smooth and trying to carry as much momentum as possible. If I tried to square it off it seemed like it would go straight to spin in and the traction control would kick in and wouldn’t go anywhere. I rode as fast as I could and we got our first point of the season. I don’t seem to get along with this track to begin with so I am looking forward to Le Mans I really like that track. We need to keep working.”

Claudio Corti – 17th“During the race I had the same problem that I had during the winter test: after the first we laps the rear tire causes a lot of vibration. I tried to decrease it by changing the electronics setting during the race and since it didn’t work so I went back to the original setting. I enjoyed myself in the last few laps with Petruci because we were I wanted that first point. I passed him at brake points a few times. A pity because I think i could have kept a pace of 1´42.500 but wasn’t able to in the end. The increase of the track temperature in the afternoon decreased the grip and traction. Tomorrow during the test we will be working on the conditions of the first half of the race, riding with a full tank since I seem to loose a lot of time concentrating on keeping the bike up. I struggle at the start and towards the end of the race I improve performance. The Avintia bikes, that are exactly the same as ours, managed to establish a twenty seconds gap, that is a second per lap and that is too much. Congratulations to Colin on his first point of the season.”

Sergio Verbena – MotoGP Technical Director“The race went considerably better than the free practices and the qualifying sessions of the last few days. The main problem this weekend was the lack of grip but in comparison to the races we have done so for this weekend we have been able to stay with other CRTs even if we are still far from the times of the fastest CRTs. We have been working really hard and now we have the first point of the season form Colin. With a bit of luck Claudio could have also been in the points but for now we will focus on the next race at Le Mans. We have to understand what is it that didn’t work in order to be ready for the next race.”

More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens Racing:

Barberá second CRT and in the points again after finishing twelfth

Aoyama without reward despite doing a great race

Jerez, 5 May 2013. A good result has been achieved with the second CRT spot of Héctor Barberá and the twelfth position points, but some problems in Héctor’s front wheel and a decrease of power in Hiroshi’s bike engine on the final stage of the race, have prevented the Avintia Blusens team from finishing up a fantastic weekend.

Despite not having made changes in the settings in relation to practice sessions, in which he shone, Barberá was not able to fight for the CRT victory due to a strange behaviour of the front wheel, not feeling comfortable with it at any point in the race. Hiroshi Aoyama was not lucky at this GP either. After a good start, Hiroshi did a great race and was able to catch and ride with the group that was fighting for the eighth position and the CRT victory. Unfortunately, with five laps left, he saw how the performance of his engine decreased and, inevitably, he was overtaken by the rest of the riders. It was an unfair ending for a work well done.

8 Héctor Barberá, 12th +59.859: I do not understand very well what has happened. Maybe the track has changed a lot and it is true that the temperature has increased, but it has been hard to ride for me and I have had to do it very slowly. When I touched the brake, the steering closed and this way it is very difficult to be fast. If you can not enter well, everything gets complicated because you do a slow corner, accelerating with the bike placed in another way and, anyway, everything changes. I am upset because I think that both the team and I have done a great weekend and I hate not being able to finish it up. Despite everything, we have to think that we have been the second CRT and we have been in the points again.

7 Hiroshi Aoyama, 18th +1.19.457: I think I did a good race. I was behind Dovizioso, Espargaró, Pirro and Smith riding in twelfth position but fighting for the eighth place. I was the one that closed the group but I had a good pace and I have thought that I had possibilities of achieving a good final position. We have had that constancy and good pace throughout the race, we have been consistent and I have had a very good feeling with the bike. All this has allowed me to battle with this group. Unfortunately, with five laps left, the engine sound has begun to change and his performance has decreased a lot. I have not stopped because I wanted to score some points but it has been impossible. It is a pity because the team has worked very hard, we have made a very good progression and we deserved a good result. We will continue working in this line for Le Mans hoping to be luckier there.

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

Heroic fifth for Crutchlow, Smith gets first top 10 in JerezThe Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team celebrated its first double top 10 result of the 2013 MotoGP campaign in Jerez today, with Cal Crutchlow riding to a heroic fifth place and rookie Bradley Smith storming to a maiden top 10 finish.

Crutchlow displayed phenomenal determination and bravery to bounce back from two heavy crashes yesterday to maintain his 100% record of finishing every race inside the top five this season.

The British rider was engaged in an exciting early fight with Valentino Rossi for fourth before he got locked into an intense tussle with Alvaro Bautista shortly before the halfway stage of the 27-lap encounter.

In scenes reminiscent of their titanic battle for the podium in Japan last October, Bautista seized fifth from Crutchlow on lap 11. But riding through the pain barrier in gruelling heat that saw temperatures hit 27 degrees under clear blue skies, Crutchlow fought back superbly to take back fifth on lap 17. He then produced a master class in aggressive riding to streak away from Bautista and claim a third successive top five finish by almost three seconds.

Bradley Smith produced an equally impressive ride to come tantalizingly close to registering his first top 10 finish in MotoGP.

For the majority of the 27-lap race he was locked in the biggest battle on track for eighth position with Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix Espargaro and Michele Pirro.

Smith moved into the top 10 on lap 24 with a clinical move to get by Pirro and at that stage he was 1.770s behind Espargaro. He produced a stunning late charge to cut the Spaniard’s advantage to less than a second but just as he was lining up an attack to claim ninth the chequered flag came out.

Cal Crutchlow 5th – 35 points: “Fifth place today is not a bad result considering everything that has gone on before but it’s not exactly what we expected. I was fast all weekend but after the two crashes yesterday I think it’s a very good result to remain the best of the rest. I did not feel very confident with the front-end in the race, but I think all Yamaha’s struggled in this area. I think in the middle of the race my pace was good and I started to push but with the full fuel tank I could not stop the bike and I had no grip, so I lost quite a bit of time in the early laps. Physically I had no problem on the bike for the race distance although I had a little bit of pain in my lower back. It has been a difficult weekend in many respects so I am very satisfied with fifth because probably last year I would not have finished the race in the same situation and that’s for sure an improvement.”

Bradley Smith 10th – 10 points: “I’m obviously happy with my first top 10 result because conditions for the race were different compared to the rest of the weekend. The lap times were relatively slow and the temperature meant the grip was quite low, so it was a big learning experience for me. Riding these bikes with that little grip needs a different style, so I had to adapt at the beginning of the race. From the middle stages I felt comfortable and I’m a little disappointed to be beaten again by Espargaro but it’s nice to be at least closer than last time in Austin. I just ran out of time at the end of the race because I was catching him very quickly. In Austin I was 50 seconds behind the winner and here the deficit is 44 seconds, so that’s definitely a positive and our aim for the future will be to keep reducing the gap. I’m really looking forward to the test tomorrow. It will be another learning experience for me and it will be nice to test on a track where we’ve just had a race and where I feel now really comfortable on the bike. Tomorrow we will be able to test a few different parts and understand actually what’s working better and what does not. So all in all it has been a positive weekend with improvements in every session.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager: “Cal did amazing all weekend, even though the two high-speed crashes yesterday meant he faced a very tough race. But he showed his fighting spirit and he had a good fight with Valentino at the beginning of the race and with Bautista afterwards. He managed to pass Bautista and was able to follows Rossi’s pace and it is a shame he was a few seconds behind him because I’m sure he could have fought for fourth. Cal clearly demonstrated once again that he is the best of the rest. He is still fifth in the Championship and just a few points behind Valentino and this is very encouraging. It has also been a very positive weekend for Bradley who improved a lot in every session and he managed to score his first MotoGP top 10 finish. The race was hard and he had some good fights with Andrea and Pirro and this was very interesting to watch. At the end he managed to pass Pirro and finish close behind Dovi, which is a very strong result. We leave Jerez very confident for the upcoming challenges, and the next one will be our all-important home race in Le Mans where we are already really excited about going there.”

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) claimed his first win of the season in confident style in blazing sunshine and in front of a huge crowd at Jerez today, making it two out of three so far this year for Honda, and reasserting himself in a World Championship battle that is already rich with tension.

With Texas winner Marc Marquez (Repsol HondaRC213V) claiming a very hard-fought second place, it was the second race in succession that Honda took the top two positions.

Pedrosa took the lead from fellow-Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) at the Dry Sack hairpin on the sixth of 27 laps, and was immediately able to secure a small but vital cushion, to win by 2.487 seconds. The last lap, he said, was particularly special, in front of 111,259 fervent Spanish fans.

He made it look easy, compared with his team-mate’s second place. Twenty-year-old Marquez had been fighting to find a way past Lorenzo mid-race and again in the closing laps. Every attack was repulsed, and when he did get in front the last time round Dry Sack, he directly ran wide, ceding the position once more.

The class rookie, who became the youngest-ever GP winner at Austin, Texas a fortnight before, wasn’t done yet.

At the final corner he saw a chink of space inside his rival, and dived straight into it. The pair touched, but Marquez had the inside line and was able to finish his corner, while Lorenzo was sent out wide, and had to accept third.

The same three riders were on the rostrum in Texas, with the order of the front two reversed.

Marquez’s third successive rostrum finish puts the youngster ahead at the top of the World Championship, with 61 points to Lorenzo’s 57; while Dani’s win moves him to second overall, one point clear of his Yamaha rival.

Conditions were hot and punishing, especially for the tyres, with all riders having to focus not only on racing their rivals but also trying to stay smooth, to avoid running out of grip in the closing laps. Pedrosa managed it best, able to run a fast but smooth pace, riding alone.

With Valentino Rossi and Cal Crutchlow (bothYamaha) fourth and fifth the next-best Honda rider was sixth-placed Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini RC213V). He had been ahead of Crutchlow mid-race, and was barely two seconds adrift at the finish.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V) crashed out in the early stages, but Grand Prix rookie Bryan Staring (GO&FUN Honda Gresini FTR Honda) was just seven tenths of a second away from scoring a first point, finishing 16th after holding his own in a strong CRT battle aboard his CBR1000RR-powered machine. Staring was at the back of a tight four-strong group, but gained two places in the last lap for his best finish yet.

Esteve “Tito” Rabat (Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex) claimed a career first victory in the Honda-powered Moto2 class, qualifying on pole for the first time, leading into the first corner, and evading his pursuers with a series of blistering early laps. By the finish he was 4.261 seconds clear of second-placed Scott Redding (Marc VDS Kalex), who had held the position all race long. Rabat’s win gave him the World Championship lead over Redding by one point.

Second Tuenti HP 40 Pons Kalex rider Pol Espargaro took a hard-fought third to add to his victory in Qatar and regain third overall. He started off fourth and spent the rest of the race battling to catch Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex). He finally did so with two laps to go, and seized the last rostrum position when the Japanese rider ran wide after saving a near-crash on a corner exit. Nakagami was barely two tenths behind over the line.

For a second grand prix in succession, the Moto3 race was stopped early by a red flag after French rider Alan Techer (CIP Moto3 TSR Honda) crashed out and required track-side treatment. He suffered concussion, but escaped serious injury. This time more than two thirds of the 23 laps had been completed, so no restart was required. Results were taken from the lap before the crash, the 15th, with victory for Spanish KTM rider Maverick Vinales, by quarter of a second from compatriot Luis Salom (KTM) and Jonas Folger (Kalex KTM).

South African Brad Binder (Ambrogio Racing SuterHonda) claimed a brilliant career-best fourth place, heading a big group battling for the position and then escaping to finish three seconds clear of fifth place. Hopes of a possible rostrum were dashed by the red flag.

Italian Romano Fenati (San Carlo Team Italia FTRHonda) was the next best Honda rider, forging his way through the field from 17th on the first lap to ninth place, at the front of the next big group, and three tenths ahead of Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold FTR Honda) and John McPhee (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda). Danny Webb (Ambrogio Racing Suter Honda) was also in the points, in 13th.

Unluckiest of all was Australian Jack Miller (Caretta Technology-RTG FTR Honda), who was going strongly in the group disputing an eventual fourth. He had just crossed the line still at the front of the eight-strong gang when into the first corner he was touched from behind by Mahindra-mounted Miguel Oliveira, and both riders crashed. He was unhurt, but unable to restart.

After a day of testing at Jerez, the MotoGP World Championship moves on to Le Mans in France in two weeks, as the European season gathers momentum.

Honda MotoGP rider quotes

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: race winner“It was a beautiful race. I was able to ride the bike well, even though it was difficult because the tyres were really on the limit. I couldn’t push too hard because of that, so I had to ride carefully. I was able to maintain a good advantage throughout the race and collect this win at home as a result. It was fantastic, especially seeing all the fans in the stands; this year we’ve had a lot of people come to watch this Grand Prix. I also want to say ‘Happy Mothers Day’ to my mum and thanks to all my team; it’s been a great day!”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda: second“It was a very good race. I gave 100 percent from the first lap through to the last. At some points in the race I felt better than at others, but I never gave up. I tried to stick as close as possible to Lorenzo, although it was very difficult. I couldn’t quite close the gap, but I didn’t let him get away either. It was a very hard race, because if you get one or two seconds difference between you, you relax a bit. I didn’t relax though, and I am very happy. I think that, above all, the end of the race was really good for the fans. I want to apologise to Jorge, because it was a racing incident – a last lap move that happens when you are on the limit. The most important thing is that we both finished the race, and I hope that that’s the end of it.”

Alvaro Bautista, Team GO&FUN Honda Gresini: sixth “That was a long and hard race because of the heat, which made it tough on the tyres. I didn’t get the best start and lost two positions, which I was able to make up although it was when I closed down on the group ahead of me that we started to struggle for grip. It is basically the same problem we have been having all weekend but I also started to have some problems with the front, which wasn’t allowing me to get on the gas as I wanted. Anyway, we gave 100 percent and it’s a positive result that gives us something to build on in the test tomorrow. I want to thank the team and sponsors for their continued support.”

Bryan Staring, GO&FUN Honda Gresini: 16th “It goes without saying that I am happy with my best result so far in MotoGP. At the start of the race I was struggling a bit but then I got into my rhythm and found the confidence to push. I am still gaining experience in this class and I think we are on the right track to start making big improvements. It’s a shame to miss out on the points but I am determined to get there soon and I am sure that with the help of the team, who continue to offer great support, we will do it soon.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: DNF“Basically we were not able to fix our problems throughout the weekend and even today I could not ride the bike in a smooth way. I crashed early on because, since the beginning of the race, I could not push the front and this overall package did not suit my riding style. This tough weekend ended with a crash and I feel sorry for everybody. We must forget this race and go ahead working hard for Le Mans GP.”

Moto2 rider quotes

Esteve Rabat, Tuenti HP 40 Pons: race winner “I am very happy. We worked very well this weekend, from the start. I could make a good lap time for one lap, but also get a good rhythm for the race. I knew it I got a good start and no-one passed me in the first laps, then I try to get away. My mechanics were telling me ‘plus 0.6’ and ‘plus 0.7’, so I pushed and pushed and I was able to make a gap, and then I could go at my own pace.”

Scott Redding, Marc VDS Racing Team: second “It was a strange race. I’m full of a cold at the moment, so the fact that it just got hotter as the race progressed meant I was fatiguing towards the end. At the start Rabat managed to creep away; it was just one or two tenths a lap, but it was enough to pull away. I tried to go with him, but it was feeling a little bit risky so I backed off to do my pace, that I knew I could maintain. It worked out pretty well. The tyres were spinning up a bit, but my lap times were okay, it’s just that Rabat was quicker today and I just have to accept that. I’m happy to be on the podium again.”

Pol Espargaro, Tuenti HP 40 Pons: third“I am not happy. Of course it is normally impossible to win every race, but we had some new problems and that is why I was behind Tito. The whole weekend was not good, but in the race I could go a couple of tenths faster, but when the heat came up the bike was sliding a lot. I think we need to do something with set-up. We are not able to use the tyres well and we have the same tyres for the whole year, so we have to change something.”

Honda Moto3 rider quotes

Brad Binder, Ambrogio Racing: fourth“Just after the start, I was in a big group. We were eight, I believe. I didn’t want to waste my tires at the beginning, so I waited. At a point, I realized that I could be faster than the others, half a second faster, and so decided to take the lead and tried to open a gap – two seconds, and maintaining it. The first group, at that point, was well ahead, and I could see them only on the straight, but the gap seemed to get smaller and smaller, lap by lap. Then – the red flag. You never know what can happen to people fighting for the victory. Perhaps even the podium could have been up for grabs... but it’s OK: I’m more than happy.”

Romano Fenati, San Carlo Team Italia: ninth “The race was beautiful. I came through from 18th on the grid; I fought a lot with some of the best riders, and I made a lot of overtakes. It was very much fun. The bike was not so bad today. I will try to keep on doing better at the next races, and especially to qualify closer to the front for even better results.”

Alexis Masbou. Ongetta-Rivacold: tenth“It was a difficult race, but very enjoyable. I was in a big group of riders, and though it was tough it was fun. I qualified 13th and finished the first lap in the same position, so that was okay. We were all battling, then with four laps to go after a couple of riders crashed ahead of me I was able to take some advantage of the confusion. I was up to ninth, then Fenati got ahead of me, and in the end beat me by a few tenths.”